Steam iron closure and latch



Aug. 24, 1954 .1. H. CONE STEAM IRON CLOSURE AND LATCH Filed May 2, 1951 3nnentor Jase 0h, H Cone attornegs Patented Aug. 24, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

STEAM IRON CLOSURE AND LATCH Joseph H. Cone, Bridgeport, Conn., assignor to 021500 Products Corporation, Bridgeport, Conn., a corporation of Connecticut Application May 2, 1951, Serial No. 224,229

. 11 Claims. 1

This invention relates to'steam irons of the type having a hinged handle structure movable between raised boiler filling position and lowered operative position, and more particularly to handle latching means and boiler closure means in such irons.

An object of the invention is to provide an improved steam iron of the above type, characterized by latching and stopper mechanisms which are greatly simplified and reduced in cost.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved and simplified, inexpensive latching and stopper mechanism for a hinged-handle type steam iron, which is efiective in operation and reliable throughout an extended period of .use.

Still another object of the invention is to provide an improved steam iron with latching and stopper mechanism according to the foregoing, which is simple and convenient for a user to operate.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an improved combined unitary latching and stopper mechanism for a hinged-handle type steam iron.

I accomplish the above objects, in the embodiment of the invention illustrated herein by providinga boiler having a filler opening in its top and safety valve means separate from said. opening, and having a hinged handle structure mounted to swing between an operative position overlying the boiler and filler opening and a raised boiler-filling position remote from the boiler. In combination with this structure I provide a simple combined unitary filler plug and manually operable latch means carried by the handle structure and a cooperable combined latch means and filler funnel on the boiler, to lock the handle structure to the boiler in operative position and to seal the filler opening thereof. By making the latch and stopper mechanism as a single, unitary device, separate from the safety valve, I am able to eliminate resilient mountings and the like and to further simplify the structure and avoid duplication of parts, thus reducing costs materially.

Preferably the combined latch means and filler plug unit is carried by the handle structure intermediate the front and rear posts thereof, and comprises a manually operable knob and a rotary shaft or post passing through the base portion of the handle structure and mounting at its lower end a stopper disk in position to seat against the filler funnel. The rotarypost carries laterally projecting lugs disposed adjacent the stopper and engageable with camming shoulders mounted on the upper rim portion of the filler funnel, the

organization being such that latching of the handle structure in its operative position moves and holds the stopper disk in sealing position against the filler funnel.

I also provide cooperable stop means on the front post of the handle structure and on the body or casing of the iron, said stop means being brought into engagement as an incident to the latching operation and subsequent to a predetermined normal distortion experienced by the stopper disk as a result of the latching pressure. The cooperable stop means advantageously provides increased rigidity between the handle and body of the iron.

Other features and advantages will hereinafter appear.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a longitudinal vertical sectional View through an improved steam iron embodying the invention.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary section taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary vertical sectional View of the unitary latching and stopper mechanism in unlatched position. 7

Fig. 4 is a top or plan view of the filler funnel and opening of the boiler.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on line 55 of Fig. 4.

As shown, the steam iron of this invention comprises a sole plate iii having an electric heatingcoil H controlled by a thermostat I?! which is adjusted through a shaft i3 and knob I i. In its forward position the sole plate It has a steam chamber i 5 enclosed by a cover plate iii to which a hollow stud ll is screwed.

Above the sole plate to a boiler it is mounted, the forward portion of the boiler having baffles i9, 20 and 2t disposed about the stud El, and having a steam dome 22 surrounding the upper end of a steam pipe 23 carried at its lower end by the stud 11. The boiler I 8 is secured to the sole plate It by virtue of the stud il having a shoulder 2t engaging the bottom of the boiler and securing the same to the cover plate E6 of the steam chamber.

Enclosing the boiler 88 is a casing 25, said casing being secured to the forward top portion of the boiler i8 by means of a threaded bushing 26 functioning as a screw, on which the steam dome 22 is screwed. As is evident, the steam pipe 23 extends upward through the bushing 26 and into the dome a substantial distance.

As previously mentioned, the steam iron illus- 3 trated herein is of the type having a hinged handle structure movable between a lowered operative position (shown in Fig. 1) or a raised boiler-filling position (indicated by the fragmentary broken outline in Fig. 1). The hinged handle structure, indicated generally by the character 2?, comprises a handle proper 23 carried by (front .and rear posts 29 and 33 respectively, mounted on a generally fiat broad base portion SI having a rear extension 32 pivotally fastened by means of pins 33 on the rear of the casing 25.

The front post 29 of the handle structure is made hollow to clear the steam dome 22, and the latter is provided with a boiler-emptying or discharge orifice 34 normally closed by a safety blowolf valve 35 spring mounted on the handle structure as illustrated. The combined steam dome, emptying means and safety valve shown herein form the subject matter of my copend- .ing application, Serial No. 221,650, filed April 18, 1951, entitled Steam Iron.

In accordance with the present invention I ,provide, in combination with the handle structure 2i and boiler I8 a novel unitary combined operable combined latch mechanism and filler opening on the boiler 13 to the end that a simopening is exposed and accessible for receiving 1 water.

Accordingly, referring to Figs. 1, 4 and 5, a filler opening 48 is provided in the top wall of the .boiler [8, said opening being defined by a funnel A1 having at its bottom a bafiie or deflector 42.

The upper edge or lip 53 of the funnel ii 'is .crimped around the top wall of the boiler l8, and supports a gasket 44 engaging the top wall of 'the'casing 25. Above the funnel M the casing wall has an opening 45 defined by an upturned flange 46 provided with inwardly extended arcuate flanges :or shoulders 4'! disposed opposite each other and sloping as indicated in Fig. 5. The shoulders 4-! have stop lugs 58 and are adapted to engage lugs or pins 49 of a cooperable latch means on the handle structure, to function as camming surfaces therefor.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the base portion 3! of the handle structure is apertured to receive and rotatably carry a hollow post 50 mounting at its upper end a knob the lower end of the post carying a collar 52 through which the pins 49 extend. Preferably the pins 48 have flanges .53 to position them, and at their inner ends pass through the post 5%] and into an annular groove .54 in astud 55 carried in the post 50. At its lower end the stud 55 mounts a sealing disk 56 having a rim portion at of rubber or rubber-like material adapted to engage and seat in the funnel ii i.

The disk 5% is non-yieldably carried by the post 50 but is rotatable with respect thereto; The positions of the disk 56 and pins 49 are so related with respect to the positions of the funnel M and camming shoulders ill, that when the handle structure '2? is in the lowered position of Fig. 1 the knob 5i may be-turned, engaging the lugs 49 with the shoulders s1 and camming the disk 56 downward into sealing engagement with the funnel 4|. In Figs. 1 and 2 the latch mechanism is shown in looking position, with the pins 49 stopper and latch mechanism, and provide a co- 4 brought to a halt against the stops 48. For this position the peripheral portion 5'! of the sealing disk 5t is firmly held against the funnel M and is somewhat distorted under the pressure exerted by the latch mechanism.

Preferably cooperable stop means are provided on the casing 25 and front post 29 of the handle structure 2'! to steady the handle when it is latched in operative position. This stop means comprises a washer 58 mounted under the bottom flange of the steam dome 22 to engage the undersurface of the front post 29 of the handle structure. Such engagement between the post 29 and washer 58 does not take place, however, until after the yieldable peripheral portion 51 of the sealing disk 56 has been distorted by the pressure exerted by the latch mechanism, such pressure forcing down the front portion of the handle structure until the post touches the washer 58.

During the rotary movement of the knob 5| and post 53 incident to latching the handle structure in its operative position, the sealing disk 5t remains stationary through its engagement with the stationary funnel 5i, this being possible by virtue of the rotatable mounting of the stud 55 in the post 50.

By the above construction I have provided an extremely simple and economical-to-produce combined latch means and stopper assembly for an electric steam iron of the hinged handle type. Where heretofore two separate assemblies were required, one constituting the stopper for the filler opening and the other constituting the latch means, I now provide but a single assembly, thereby materially reducing the cost of the iron while at the same time maintaining high efficiency and reliability of operation.

It will be noted that the latching parts comprising the pins 49 and shoulders 41 are disposed closely adjacent and on opposite sides :of the stopper disk 56 and filler funnel or valve seat 4!. By such close spacing I am enabled to reduce to a minimum the effect of variations and tolerances in manufacture without resorting to resilient mounting means for the stopper or latch. Where, as in the prior art, the stopper and latch are widely separated, manufacturing variations in the dimensions of the componentsof the iron, particularly those mounting and supporting said parts, require that special provision be made for compensation, by the use of yieldable means, spring mountings and the like, adding to the cost of the assemblage. With the improved construction described above the effect of such variations is negligible and does not materially affect the relative positions of the parts when these are assembled in manufacture. Accordingly I am enabled to dispense with yieldable means, and, can depend mainly on the yieldability of the peripheral portion 5'! of the stopper-disk 5% to provide aneifective and smooth working latch and stopper mechanism.

Variations and modifications may be made within the scope of the claims and portions of the improvements may be used without others.

I claim:

1. In an electric steam iron of the type having a'boiler with a filler opening at its top and a handle structure over the boiler, hingedly mounted for movement between a raised filling position exposing the filler opening and a lowered operative position overlying the filler opening, the combination with said handle structure and boiler of a combined unitary filler plug and manually operable latchmeans carried by said handle structure and a cooperable combined latch means and filler opening on the boiler to lock the handle structure to the boiler in operative position and seal the filler opening thereof.

2. In an electric steam iron of the type having a boiler with a filler opening at its top and a handle structure over the boiler, hingedly mounted for movement between a raised filling position exposing the filler opening and a lowered opera tive position overlying the filler opening, the combination with said handle structure and boiler of a combined unitary filler plug and manually operable latch means carried by said handle structure and a cooperable combined latch means and filler opening on the boiler to lock the handle structure to the boiler in operative position and seal the filler opening thereof; and coengaging stops on the boiler and handle structure, maintained in engagement with each other when the latch means is operative to lock the handle structure in operative position.

3. The invention as defined in claim 1, in which the filler plug comprises a disk and in which the manually operable latch means includes a rotary post on one end of which the disk is carried, and includes a knob on the other end of the post.

4. The invention as defined in claim 3, in which the rotary post has laterally projecting locking lugs, and in which the latch means on the boiler comprises sloping shoulders disposed around the filler opening, engageable with the said lugs.

5. In an electric steam iron of the type having a boiler with a filler opening at its topand a handle structure over the boiler, hingedly mounted for movement between a raised filling position exposing the filler opening and a lowered operative position overlying the filler opening, the combination with said handle structure and boiler of a combined unitary filler plug and manually operable latch means carried by said handle structure; and latch means connected to the boiler and cooperable with said manually operable means to lock the handle structure in operative position, said filler plug being moved and held against the filler opening to seal the same when said latch means is locked.

6. In an electric steam iron of the type having a boiler with a recessed filler funnel at its top and a handle structure over the boiler, hingedly mounted for movement between a raised filling position exposing the filler funnel and a lowered operative position overlying the filler funnel, the combination with said handle structure and boiler of a combined unitary filler plug and releasable rotary latch means carried by said handle structure, said means including a manually operable knob and a shaft actuated thereby, and said filler plug comprising a yieldable annulus carried by the shaft in a downwardly projected position below the handle structure; and latch means on the boiler, cooperable with said rotary latch means to lock the handle structure in operative position, said filler plug being moved and held against the filler funnel to seal the same when said latch means is locked.

7. In a steam iron, at body including a boiler having a filler opening; a handle structure hinged with respect to the body for movement between a raised, boiler-filling position and a lowered operative position; a stopper for the filler opening, non-resiliently carried by the handle structure to seal the filler opening when the handle structure is in operative position; and releasable means for latching the handle structure in operative position, said means including cooperable parts on the body and handle structure, disposed closely adjacent and around the filler opening and stopper respectively whereby minimum tolerances can be maintained therebetween to provide a satisfactory latching and sealing action.

8. In a steam iron, a body including a boiler having a filler opening; a handle structure hinged with respect to the body for movement between a raised, boiler-filling position and a lowered operative position; a stopper for the filler opening, non-resiliently carried by the handle structure to seal the filler opening when the handle structure is in operative position; and releasable means for latching the handle structure in operative position, said means including cooperable parts on the body and handle structure, disposed closely adjacent and straddling the filler opening and stopper respectively whereby minimum tolerances can be maintained therebetween to provide a satisfactory latching and sealing action.

9. In a steam iron, a boiler having a filler opening; a stopper for the filler opening; a handle structure; means hingedly mounting the handle structure on the boiler for movement between a raised filling position and a lowered operative position; and manually releasable means for latching the handle structure in lowered position, including a mounting for securing the stopper on the handle structure to seal the filler opening when the handle structure is latched in lowered position, said latching means being disposed around the stopper mounting when the handle structure is latched.

10. In a steam iron, a boiler having a filler opening; a handle structure; means hingedly mounting the handle structure on the boiler for movement between a raised filling position and a lowered operative position; means for latching the handle structure in lowered position, including a manually operable knob on the handle structure and a member actuated by the knob, extending from said structure toward said filler opening; a stopper for said filler opening; and means mounting the stopper on the latch member whereby latching of the handle structure in lowered position moves and holds the stopper against the filler opening to seal the same.

11. In a steam iron, a boiler having a filler opening; a handle structure; means hingedly mounting the handle structure on the boiler for movement between a raised filling position and a lowered operative position; means for latching the handle structure in lowered position, including a manually operable knob on the handle structure and a rotary shaft actuated by the knob, extending from said structure toward said filler opening substantially along the axis of the opening when the handle structure is in lowered position; a stopper for said filler opening; and means non-yieldably mounting the stopper on the lower end of the latch shaft whereby latching of the handle structure in lowered position moves and holds the stopper against the filler opening to seal the same.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,286,302 Hood Dec. 3, 1918 2,164,450 Eshbaugh et. a1 July 4, 1939 2,475,571 Schreyer July 5, 1949 2,475,572 Schreyer July 5, 1949 

